News & Commentary

The Rhode Island ACLU has asked the R.I. Supreme Court to review an appeal that raises fundamental questions about the legality of the procedures used by so-called “truancy courts” that have sprung up across the state in recent years. The ACLU brief filed in the case argues that essential due process safeguards are absent from the operation of these courts.

As the state begins preparations for a possible flu pandemic, the RI ACLU today cautioned that Rhode Islanders face another serious consequence should an outbreak occur: the government’s potential use of extraordinary powers that could significantly diminish residents’ freedom, privacy and equality. That is because the state’s emergency health power laws, according to RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown, are “incredibly far-reaching and authorize some of the most sweeping powers in the country to deal with a health care emergency.”

The ACLU of Rhode Island, together with the National ACLU and the National Congress of American Indians, today filed a "friend of the court" brief in the pending appeal between the state of Rhode Island and the Narragansett Indian Tribe over the highly publicized 2003 state police raid of the Tribe's smoke shop. The brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, argues that "by executing a search warrant against the Tribe, arresting Tribal officials, and confiscating tribal documents and other property," the state violated the Tribe's "sovereign authority over its territory."

In an important victory for vigorous advocacy by civil rights attorneys, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston today reversed District Court Judge Mary Lisi’s sanctions on attorneys in the Cornel Young, Jr. civil rights case for allegedly misrepresenting the judge’s position in court papers. The Rhode Island ACLU had filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the attorneys. The brief, filed by volunteer attorney Amy R. Tabor, had argued that Judge Lisi’s actions “not only violated the due process and First Amendment rights of both the plaintiff and her attorneys, but will, if not reversed, chill and undermine the independent and vigorous advocacy that is an indispensable component of our system of justice.”

A study released this week by Northeastern University researchers shows that African-American and Hispanic drivers in Rhode Island continue to be subjected to disparate treatment by law enforcement, prompting concern from the ACLU and others in the civil rights community.

The R.I. ACLU today announced the settlement of its racial profiling lawsuit against the Scituate Police Department in a case in which the ACLU alleged that Pawtucket resident Jean Philippe Barros, a person of Cape Verdean descent, was the victim of racial profiling when he was stopped, questioned and ticketed. Without acknowledging any wrongdoing, the Town has agreed to pay Barros $10,500. Last October, a federal jury cleared the police, but the ACLU appealed, challenging significant restrictions on the evidence that the judge allowed the jury to consider. As a result of the settlement, the appeal is being dismissed.

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a “friend of the court” brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston, challenging District Court Judge Mary Lisi’s sanctions on attorneys in the Cornel Young, Jr. civil rights case for allegedly misrepresenting the judge’s position in court papers. The brief, filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Amy R. Tabor, argues that Judge Lisi’s actions “not only violated the due process and First Amendment rights of both the plaintiff and her attorneys, but will, if not reversed, chill and undermine the independent and vigorous advocacy that is an indispensable component of our system of justice.” Last year, the ACLU sought to file a similar brief on these issues before Judge Lisi when she was considering whether to sanction the attorneys, but Judge Lisi denied the ACLU’s request to file the brief.

Calling the decision “deeply disappointing,” the ACLU announced that U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lisi had today denied the organization’s request to submit a friend of the court brief to address the issue of imposing sanctions on the three attorneys in the Cornel Young, Jr. civil rights case. They are facing sanctions for allegedly misrepresenting the judge’s position in court papers.

The R.I. ACLU today hailed a decision issued by U.S. District Court Judge William Smith, holding unconstitutional the INS’ efforts to indefinitely detain without a hearing, pending deportation proceedings, an immigrant with a criminal record. The court held that inmate Errol Hall, who is from Jamaica but has lived in this country for 30 years, had to be provided an opportunity to show whether he is a flight risk or a danger to the community that justifies his continued detention after three years. ACLU executive director Steven Brown called the ruling a “welcome reminder of the important role the judiciary must play” in protecting our freedoms.